Kittens and Birds
by xYaoiGirlx
Summary: [AU][future KaixRei & TakaoxMax] If all is fair in love and war, why is Kai in so much pain when it all started out as a simple plan?
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimers: I don't own Beyblade; I'm simply using the characters for my and my muse's entertainment.

Notes: I'm still not sure, but I think Tala's Japanese name is Yuri, but if I'm wrong, please correct me! And I just found out Kenny's Japanese name the other day, but I don't feel like going through and changing it, even though his name doesn't appear much anyway.

Kittens and Birds by Yaoi Girl

It had always been a fact that in Twin Pines (1) two groups called the White Tigers and the Phoenixes had always been at each other's throats for dominance since they were formed.

The White Tigers belonged to Twin Pines High School, whereas the Phoenixes belonged to the Star Dust Academy for Boys (2), both schools having been rivals anyway for several years in respect to their sports and bands. But these two particular groups had their own discords to settle.

Lee, the leader of the White Tigers, had been in charge since the group's third generation leader had graduated his freshman year, which had, to say the least, peeved the leader of the recently formed Phoenixes, who happened to be the richest and most respected boy in their town: Hiwatari Kai.

During his own freshman year, Kai had also attended Twin Pines High School and was part of this age-old group of teens, known for their skills in martial arts and other rare abilities but never for causing trouble until the past few years. He and Lee had even been friends two years ago, both being juniors now, and it was expected by the entire school back then that Kai would become leader of the White Tigers, but it wasn't to be. Somehow, Lee had gained the upper hand behind his back.

There had been a fight between the pair, and Kai's father wouldn't have it that his son would be in any kind of trouble, so he removed his son from Twin Pines High School and more or less forced him to attend the Star Dust Academy for Boys.

Since a majority of the White Tigers had out-classed Lee since he was deemed leader, they had since graduated and he was now left with only a few people. Mao, his best friend since childhood and the only female member of the group, Max, a young boy that had recently gained his trust and whom he had been acquainted with since middle school, and last, but definitely not least, the new boy, Rei, who had just moved in about a month ago and was currently Mao's greatest obsession, much to his dismay.

The Phoenixes on the other hand had more people, but few of them could be trusted, and were known mainly for their status in society. Among the trusted and most loyal were Takao, Kai's childhood friend who he can't tolerate half the time because of his personality, Yuri, another childhood friend and the son of the second richest family in town, and Kenny, the deemed 'nerd' and 'know it all' of the group, but respected all the same.

======

On this brilliantly sunny and all around perfect May afternoon, the groups had unintentionally met at the park and the friction was almost unbearable. Then again, the White Tigers and the Phoenixes hadn't crossed paths for any reason in several months, so it was natural for them to be overly hostile towards one another.

"Kai."

"Lee."

The two regarded each other with their interpretation of a greeting, or rather acknowledgement, Kai breaking eye contact with Lee's amber eyes to settle on another pair the same color.

His own crimson eyes studied the figure carefully, taking in the bound raven hair and wild bangs and the slightly unnerved and shy eyes studying himself as well as the rest of the Phoenixes. And had Kai been a girl, he would probably be fawning over the gorgeous boy before him. But he was Kai, the rather stoic and heartless leader of the Phoenixes, not some love-struck girl.

After his evaluation of the newest addition to the rival group, Kai's gaze lazily drifted over back to Lee, his lips parting for a smart remark about the new person, but closed and formed a smirk as he seen Lee restraining the pink-haired neko-jin from attacking.

"Don't get too attached to him; he won't last long," Kai had smirked, his dark gaze locked with the fuming Mao's as he began to walk off, his group following him, giving them all dirty looks.

Three pairs of amber eyes and the only pair of icy blue ones followed the Phoenixes until they were gone from view.

"What did he mean?" Rei asked somewhat timidly, as the tension hadn't dissolved much. He wasn't exactly sure who those people were or why Lee and Mao were glaring at them since it had been his first time meeting with the long-talked about rivals. Had he heard the leader's name when his own leader addressed the other boy, he'd have known who they were.

As Lee released the still fuming Mao, he replied simply, "He wants to challenge you."

======

"Are you really going to fight him," Yuri sighed in exasperation; really, is that all their leader thought about nowadays?

"Hn."

"How are you going to keep Lee from butting in?"

"It's not him I'm worried about, it's Mao. I'll just have to get the new guy out by himself or alone with Lee." He wasn't afraid of Mao, per say, it's just that she would jump Kai's ass the first chance she got and would be even more feisty with Kai fighting her obvious crush, but he could still easily take her.

"Kai's afraid of a girl!" Takao said in a teasing, sing-song voice before bursting into laughter, stopping instantly as their leader's hand had him by the collar of his shirt and about three inches off the ground.

Kai -really- wanted to hit him, but Yuri placed a gentle hand on his raised fist and slowly forced it down.

"Save it for the new kitten."

As he lowered and released Takao, he snorted in annoyance and stalked off towards his mansion, the rest of the group going their separate way for the afternoon.

'There's no point in fighting him. He looks weak, so all I have to do is scare him. Pull his hair, push him around…'

"You're late for lunch, young man! How many times much I tell you…" his mother screeched as soon as he was in the front door.

"I had a run-in with the kittens," he said as he rolled his eyes and walked towards the dining room, his mother fuming for her son interrupting her.

======

Lee had to escort Mao home before she hauled ass after Kai to beat him to a bloody pulp; truth be told, he wanted to see what Rei could do against that 'stuck up bastard' or himself for that matter. He knew he was a good fighter; Rei had the awards to prove it.

Max decided to follow Lee and Mao since he lived a block over from them, leaving Rei to himself.

He didn't feel like going home, seeing as his parents would just make him train some more, so he took a walk around the park, only to run into Yuri.

"You don't look so tough, kitten," he smiled wickedly at him. "Especially when you're alone."

"Nor do you," he nonchalantly stated, making to walk around the red-head.

"Don't get me wrong," Yuri said as he put an arm out to stop Rei. "I don't fight, but seeing as you belong with the likes of them, you must be able to fight. Or are you a freak like that blonde kid?"

"Max is not a freak," Rei said, glaring at the still smiling boy.

"Oh, so you don't call people who can shape-shift into another human a freak?" he asked in mock confusion. "So what do you call him?"

Usually, Rei was one to keep his cool, not to mention keep to himself, but he was enraged at the moment to say the least. No one talked about his friends like that.

As the raven-haired boy walked off, Yuri glared after him as he brought his hand up to his now swollen and bleeding lip. "You'll pay for that, kitten. You'll pay dearly."

======

"He really did. He punched me!" Yuri said as he talked to Kai later that night on the phone. "I look like a freak with these stitches in my lip!"

"You looked like a freak before," Kai said sarcastically, though he was tired and rather peeved at his mother at the moment. "I'll put in a few good punches for you when we fight."

"Aw, you'd do that for me?" he mock squealed like a girl.

Already in a fouler mood that usual, Kai simply hung up on him, tossing his cell phone over to his backpack on the other side of the room before he fell backwards into his mattress, folding his hands behind his head.

"He's got some nerve, messing with my guys…" he mused aloud, his mind wandering to the raven haired beauty he had studied earlier that day. "He doesn't seem like the rest of them, not that that Max kid has anything against me like Lee and Mao. There's just something altogether different about him."

"Talking to yourself again?" came a overly cheery voice from his window, causing Kai to sigh in annoyance.

"What the hell do you want, Takao?"

"You seem to be thinking about that new guy quite a bit, at least I think so from what I've heard."

"Yeah, so?" he snorted, not removing his eyes from the ceiling that he had been staring up at since he had laid down, not even shifting his gaze when the other bluenette sat on his bed, as it was an almost nightly occurrence that Takao sneak over and visit him.

"Well, if you say he doesn't have anything against you yet, why don't you trying taking advantage of that aspect?"

"You've been talking to Kenny again and taking his ideas."

"So what if I have? Think about it though; you get the new guy to like you and talk Lee and the other kittens into breaking up or else you'd do something to him."

"Do something like what?" Kai asked, his interest in this matter slightly peaked. He'd give anything to have Lee announce to the all the high school teens in their town that Kai was the victor of the group war. To have Lee groveling at his feet after he backstabbed him two years ago.

"Like…you'll run his family out of town?" Takao shrugged, obviously stuck for ideas.

Kai sighed at his friend's lack of ideas for as creative as he usually was, with burping phrases and the like in public, any thing he could think of to embarrass Kai in public for that matter.

"Go talk to Kenny and have him come up with a full plan," he simply said before rolling onto his side, away from Takao. "I'm going to sleep."

"Aye aye Captain!" Takao mock saluted as he stood, heading to the window shortly afterward and back down the vine's wooden supports.

Kai merely rolled his eyes and again sighed in irritation. That Takao…

TBC

1) Twin Pines: couldn't think of anything at first, then I looked at my new Naruto wall scroll and the first thing I saw, besides the obvious characters, were trees. O.o

2) Star Dust Academy: again, I couldn't think of anything to name the other school and the first thing I looked at was my Newtype magazine and Gundam SEED was on the front…anything usually having to do with Gundams = space, so yeah...

Review onegai?


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimers: I don't own Beyblade; I'm simply using the characters for my and my muse's entertainment.

Kittens and Birds by Yaoi Girl

As Rei had expected, upon returning home his parents forced him to practice his katas and the like in their dojo, so by the time he was ready for bed, he was exhausted, both mentally and physically.

After having stripped down to his boxers and braided his hair for the night, he practically collapsed on his bed.

He had felt guilty ever since he had hit that boy back at the park, but he tried to reason with himself that he deserved it. Max may be different, but that's no reason to call a person like him a freak.

Then there was that seemingly 'perfect' guy…

"Kai, I think is his name…He seems like a real jerk, even more so in person than what Lee says. He acted almost like he was king of the world or something, but I guess it's expected of a rich bastard like him," he sighed, recalling in horrific detail the image of this boy. "And by the look of things, since he seems so spoiled, he's all talk. He'd probably be lucky to land a punch on me at all."

Too tired to think anymore for the night, he lazily rolled over and flicked off his bedroom light on the stand next to him before almost instantly falling asleep.

======

"Rei, did you really hit Yuri?" Lee asked the next day at school, skeptical.

"Where'd you hear that?" he winced ever so slightly, but apparently neither Lee nor the others had noticed.

Lee sighed in relief. "I thought for sure it was you everyone's talking about. They've been saying that some new kid decked him yesterday afternoon and busted his lip."

The wince grew. "It was me," he squeaked, shrinking back a bit.

"Oh, Rei! Did he hurt you at all?" Mao shrieked as she circled Rei frantically, searching with her hands and eyes for any cuts or bruises, causing the boy to blush horribly as she began to lift his shirt in the view of public.

"No!" he managed as he backed away from her, holding the hem of his shirt down tightly. He then turned his attention back to Lee and away from the pouting and discontent Mao. "I did it for a reason though. It's not like I did it because he belongs to the Phoenixes."

"What was the reason then?"

At this, Rei glanced worriedly at Max before he looked back to his patiently waiting leader. "He called Max a freak," he said slowly and sympathetically; he really didn't want to hurt Max's feelings.

"It's fine, Rei. I'm used to it now," Max said, managing a smile, though the raven-haired boy knew it was forced. "But since you stood up for me, I'd be more than willing to take your place if you do ever fight Kai."

"No; if it ever comes to that, I'm doing it. He needs to be put in his place."

Shortly after that, the bell for their first class rang and they went their ways until their usual meeting time after school.

======

"Are ya done yet?"

Kenny, usually the ever patient and calm one, was so close to slapping the irritating Takao that even Kai was about to laugh.

"If you ask me one more time…" he said between gritted teeth, keeping his gaze locked onto his laptop screen as he made a few modifications to something or other. "I'll tell the headmaster what you did with his toupee last week."

At this, the bluenette smiled victoriously at his completed mission. He had been the only person to successfully kidnap the headmaster's hairpiece and get away with it, as in the headmaster never saw him during the taking of his fake hair, and where it was hiding only Takao knew, though it was located in the school. If his parents found it at home, he'd be grounded for weeks and have no dessert with dinner for who knew how long, and probably the same punishment if he was ever found out at school.

"How close are you to being finished?"

At this, Kenny's head snapped up and his rarely seen emerald eyes landed on Kai, somewhat surprised that Kai of all people had interrupted him in his rather irate mood.

"I've got the basic outline of it, but I have to make sure there's no loopholes."

"Will it be done by tonight?"

The brunette nodded as he focused again on his laptop screen. "I'll e-mail it to you when I'm completely done."

Takao had opened his mouth to say something but quickly shut it and soon after began to yelp as Kai grabbed him by the ear and dragged him away, Yuri following behind them, trying to conceal his wounded lip from the other students that lingered in the halls after school.

No sooner than the trio was outside of the school gates, Takao's eyes widened in shock as Kai and Yuri's turned to icy glares at the boy standing before them.

"What do you want?" Yuri spat as he began to walk up to Rei, Kai grabbing his arm and holding him in place by his side.

"I felt bad for hitting you yesterday and I wanted to apologize. I have a tendency to overreact sometimes."

"You're apologizing?! To me?!" the red-head gawked, confused.

"What would Lee say if he knew about this?" the bluenette spoke, smirking as he was rather amused by the scene before him; no one from the White Tigers had apologized to them for anything.

"Look, I'm doing this as a person, not as a member of the White Tigers, okay? So Lee doesn't need to know."

Kai bit his lower lip in thought as Yuri and Rei had a somewhat civilized conversation about why exactly Rei was apologizing to him when the other boy did deserve to be hit.

'Maybe I won't have to follow Kenny's plan exactly…'

"Well, I think that all should be forgiven and we should start over, as people and not members of a group or school rivals," Kai interrupted the two, gaining an overly confused look from Yuri.

Rei looked at Kai's now outstretched hand, not sure whether to accept the gesture or not, but finally he placed his hand in Kai's.

"I'm Hiwatari Kai. Nice to meet you," he greeted in a way that Takao and Yuri only knew as an 'up to no good Kai'.

"Kon Rei," the raven-haired teen said shortly, still rather unsure as they shook hands.

"Now that that's out of the way, how would you like to go out to lunch with us to settle the ordeal from yesterday and get to know each other? My treat."

"I can't; I should really be getting back to the others before they think something's up. Maybe next time?"

The bluenette tried his best not to frown or glare, plastering on a fake smile that was believable. "Sure. Next time."

"See you later then," he waved as he took off in a run down the sidewalk towards the park for the group's afternoon rendezvous.

"Dude, that was sickening. Don't ever do that again," Takao grimaced, almost gagging while Yuri nodded in agreement, still in confusion and shock at what their leader had just done.

Kai rolled his eyes and promptly smacked the other bluenette upside the head, his icy demeanor returning. "Don't you get it?"

"Get what?"

At this, Kai's temple began to throb. "I'm trying to gain his trust. If we approach him as normal people, he should be naïve enough to fall for our trick, and then in the end, we'll destroy the White Tigers," he explained matter of factly to his rather idiotic friend.

======

'That was too weird…' Rei thought as he continued to run. 'He was way too friendly for someone that was badmouthing me just yesterday afternoon. But then again, he doesn't like Lee, so maybe he's really a nicer person in private than when he's around him?'

"Rei?! Where have you been?" Mao pouted as he finally caught up to them.

"My mom called my cell phone and wanted me to come home for something," he lied beautifully.

"Then why didn't you take me with you so I could meet her?"

"Enough, Mao," Lee said, getting rather fed up with her whining. "We have practicing to do before the martial arts tournament next weekend, so lets get busy."

'I thought for sure Lee would see through my lie…' Rei inwardly sighed in relief as he followed his friends to their usual clearing to practice.

======

After their practice was finished, Lee and Mao headed home, Max staying behind with Rei.

"Where were you really?" the blonde asked as he toweled his sweaty face from his resting spot on the grass.

The raven-haired teen hung his head slightly; he was usually a horrible lair and knew someone would see through the one he gave earlier.

"I went and had a talk with the Phoenixes," he replied as he turned his back, knowing the look of shock that would pass over Max's face as soon as the information was processed.

"Why?"

"I…Even though Yuri insulted you and I hit him because he deserved it, I felt bad and…told him I was sorry. And he even apologized for calling you that. They're actually not bad people."

"They're trying to pull something. They've never been nice when we've crossed paths," the blonde said as he and Rei began their walk home.

"They're that way when they're around Lee, but earlier, when it was just me, they were actually nice and civilized."

"I still say they're up to no good."

Rei shrugged. 'I suppose Max has the right to think that since he's known them for a while, whereas I just met the White Tigers a month ago and the Phoenixes just yesterday…'

"Rei!"

Both boys stopped, turning to the somewhat familiar voice of Hiwatari Kai.

Max tried his hardest not to glare or give the other boy a dirty look, wanting to test Rei's theory of Kai being kind when Lee wasn't with them.

"I was going to give you my number earlier so you could call me when you…" he stopped, looking to Max, having just seen realized that he was with Rei. He didn't want to say anything that could possibly give his plan away. "Need help studying Algebra," he lied, though he assumed Rei knew why he was giving him his number. Kai then pulled out a folded piece of paper and handed it to him.

"Oh, right! Algebra. That has to be the world's hardest subject," the raven-haired boy played along.

"So, um, yeah. I'll talk to you later then. Nice to see you, Max," he said before turning and walking off, waving over his shoulder with his evil smirk in place.

"Algebra?" Max drawled as they again began to walk. "And we're not good enough to help you?"

"You need to stop pointing out when I'm lying," he smiled. What harm would it to be to tell Max about the lunch meeting? "He offered to take me and the rest of the Phoenixes out to lunch so we could get to know each other on friendly terms, not as rivals since he has nothing personally against me."

"So he's not wanting to fight you anymore? I find that hard to believe. I think he's trying to find out your weaknesses and use them against you."

"If I pick up any hints that that's the case, I'll keep away from them, alright? And please don't tell Lee any of this!" Rei pleaded.

"I won't, so long as you talk Kai into letting me come with you to lunch. I don't want you with them by yourself."

"I'll ask him tonight then."

======

Kai scowled slightly as he waited for the pair the next afternoon. 'He wasn't supposed to tell him. But so long as Max doesn't tell Lee what's going on, I suppose it doesn't matter.'

"Oh, come on! Lighten up! You get to toy with the new kitten today," Takao chirped as he slung an arm over Kai's shoulders, grinning from ear to ear.

"Yeah, this could be a plus to the plan. If we gain Max's trust as well as Rei's, it will be just Mao and Lee left," Kenny chimed in as he stood next to Takao.

"But there's a slight problem with that. With just the two of them left and only me to fight, they would win because Max and Rei wouldn't fight with me. Not unless…No," Kai said, shrugging Takao's arm off of him.

"What?"

"We get Rei and Max to fall for two of us, then they wouldn't let Mao or Lee near us."

"And it's almost pretty much set that Kai's going after Rei," Yuri said with a knowing smile, Takao glowering slightly at the red-head, but it went unnoticed.

"No, he'll be coming after me. I have no intention of actually dating a guy. But yes, I intend to 'win his heart'."

"Here they come," Kenny whispered as he caught sight of the pair a moment later.

"And please don't do the overly friendly thing again, Kai," Takao whispered disgustedly, to which he received a slight warning glare.

"Then no dessert or extra food for you."

"No fair!!!"

TBC

Tada .; I hope it's starting to get a little more interesting to read…


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimers: I don't own Beyblade; I'm simply using the characters for my and my muse's entertainment.

Kittens and Birds by Yaoi Girl

Usually, Max wasn't one to fear the Phoenixes, but today, however, he walked behind Rei, cautiously eyeing the group of boys as they approached them, much to Rei's dismay.

"They're not going to bite you, Max," the raven-haired boy had smiled behind him.

"Not too hard anyway," Yuri grinned.

"Are you sure you don't mind taking us? If you have other plans or whatever, we won't be upset."

"Sounds like you don't want to go," Kai said as he pushed himself off the wall he had been leaning against, his arms remaining crossed over his chest.

"No, I want to; I just don't want to be rude or anything," Rei shrugged as he began to follow the Phoenixes' leader, soon after falling in step with him at the head of the pack, leaving Max a little tense with the other boys, even more so when Takao threw an arm over his shoulders.

"You don't need to be so afraid. We're not going to jump you guys or anything," he grinned, frowning and removing his arm a moment later when Max continued to stare ahead, his expression somewhat irritated. "And I thought Kai could be a sourpuss," he mumbled.

"C'mon, Max! Give them a chance," Rei smiled as he turned to walk backwards.

"What am I supposed to talk to them about?" the blonde mumbled. He couldn't think of a single thing to start or continue a conversation without possibly starting a fight between himself and Rei or with the Phoenixes.

"Here we are," Kai stated, surprising himself and the rest of his group when he caught Rei, who had begun to fall when he turned to face the bluenette. He quickly helped to steady Rei and walked into the pizza place before anyone started asking questions; Kai had never done anything to help any of his friends in such a situation, and had never just done something like that without even thinking.

The place wasn't too big, but it was busy. They were lucky to claim a six-person booth.

Rei had climbed into his seat first, so he was sitting next to the rather large window, then Kai, then Yuri. On the other side, Max sat across from Rei, Takao sitting next to him, then Kenny, who really had no interest in coming along for the afternoon, and so flipped open his laptop to entertain himself.

"Have you ever eaten here before?" Takao asked Max as the waitress began to sit their mini-plates and the like in front of them; he would've asked Rei too, but he was currently busy telling the waitress what he wanted to drink.

"Once, when I was younger," he said as he looked over the menu, having given the waitress his drink order after Rei.

"Only once?! This is probably my second favorite place to eat in town!"

Max smiled somewhat. "I'm not much of a pizza person. My parents order out sometimes, but I usually pass."

"It seems that they're starting to get along. I told him that you guys weren't as bad as what Lee makes you guys out to be," Rei smiled as he rested his cheek in his palm, looking to Kai. "So, who are those two? I obviously know you and Yuri."

"That's Takao; the ever annoying one," he said with a slight roll of his eyes as he inclined his head slightly to show who the indicated boy was, then did the same to Kenny. "And the one absorbed in his laptop over there is Kenny. Don't worry if he doesn't respond to you; he usually gets wrapped up in making new programs and such."

"Do they always act like that?"

"Takao, every chance he gets, but he might behave himself somewhat today since there's 'new' people, but don't expect it next time, and Kenny, he just flips that decrepit thing open when he's not interested in what's going on or when he really needs to finish something."

"It's not decrepit! It's just under a year old for your information!" the brunette unexpectedly snapped before almost instantly returning to his task at hand.

Kai snorted softly and rolled his eyes, rolling his straw paper into a ball while he also placed his cheek in his palm, looking over to Rei.

"So, how long have you been in town?"

"Just over a month."

"Sucks, doesn't it? The town I mean."

"Not really. The town I just moved from didn't have much either. I was actually kinda glad to move; I needed a new start."

"Why's that?" the bluenette asked as he then flicked the paper ball at Takao's head, receiving a glare from the boy as it bounced off his forehead and into his drink that the waitress had just brought, a bored sigh from Yuri, and a giggle from Max.

"I didn't have many friends there, and the ones I had were scared of me. Pretty much day in and day out when I wasn't in school, my parents made me practice my martial arts. Ever since I was little, they had entered me in every competition that they could, no matter how far they had to travel. And now that they've moved us here, it's pretty much the same routine, except now I get some time to myself after school and I only have to go to the closer tournaments."

"My parents try to keep me out of any type of fighting, even against, you know…" he said, not wanting to bring up group names since it was a 'friendly' day.

"That's the way my parents are too. I'm only supposed to fight in a competition unless absolutely necessary."

The waitress came back and took their order, leaving the boys to talk again for a while before their food arrived, in which time Takao had burped the ABCs at least three times forward and once backward.

"That's real talent you have there," Max teased Takao.

"That's not all I can do!"

"And if you do anything else while I'm around, your ass -will- meet the pavement," Yuri chimed in, already being nauseated by the display.

"The onion fritters!" Takao whispered excitedly as he caught site of the waitress bringing out their pizza. [1]

"Onion…fritters?" Rei slowly asked, confused, eyeing first Takao then Kai.

"Don't ask," Kai simply said as he fought with the hot and stringy cheese after putting a slice of pizza on his plate a few moments later. "It's Takao we're talking about here."

"Hey, guys, watch thi…!" the energetic bluenette began excitedly, stopping what he was about to do at the rather dark glare of his group. "Or not…"

======

"Thanks for dinner," Rei said after they walked back to the Star Dust Academy, where they had met that afternoon. "I had a lot of fun."

"Me too," Max said, smiling from his spot next to Takao, whom he appeared to have taking a liking to.

They talked for a few more minutes, Max showing off his transforming capabilities to Yuri, Takao, and Kenny. Meanwhile, Kai had pulled Rei aside.

"I was wondering if you maybe wanted to do something this weekend? Just the two of us?" Kai asked nonchalantly as he leaned against the low brick walling around the school, Rei sitting on it next to him.

"Why just the two of us?"

"I think Takao was wanting to invite Max over to his place for a sleepover or something. And Yuri and Kenny don't usually go to the movies; they fall asleep halfway through them."

"I'll ask my parents, but I'm pretty sure I could."

Kai started to push himself off the wall as Rei began to speak again.

"Is that all you wanted?"

"Yeah, why?"

"I was just curious, seeing as you pulled me away from them just to ask me a simple question. You could've even asked me that on the phone."

"You've seen how they are; they'll think I'm asking you on a date or something. And I didn't think about asking if I called you; it probably would've slipped my mind till the last second."

"What if I took it as you were asking me out on a date?" Rei asked, swinging his legs back and forth slightly with the faintest hint of a blush spread across his cheeks.

Luckily, Kai had his back to Rei and he grimaced. Sure, that was the plan, but if things went too well too soon, things would go downhill just as quickly, he was sure.

"If that's the way you want to interpret it, then fine," he shrugged, trying to sound as indifferent as possible.

"I was just joking. I know a guy like you doesn't like guys that way; I can tell from the way you are around the others. And you didn't sound sincere about how I could interpret it, not to mention the fact that we just basically met."

"How can you be so sure? I could swing either way, you know," he smirked, crossing his arms over his chest as he turned to face Rei.

"I doubt it. Besides, if I ever dated a guy, I'd never hear the end of it from my parents," he replied as he hopped down from the low wall.

"So is it a date or not?"

"Whatever way you want to interpret it, Kai," the raven-haired boy smiled as he walked past Kai to rejoin the others. "I'll call you Friday afternoon to let you know for sure."

======

"So…you and Kai are kinda dating?" Max asked, confused, as he and Rei walked home that evening.

"Not really. I mean, we just basically got acquainted today, so…" he trailed off, giving a vague shrug and hand gesture.

"But you want to, am I right?"

"Yes and no. He seems really nice and all…"

"Not to mention a great body, and his eyes are so gorgeous…"

At this, Rei turned and gave him a rather surprised look.

"Heh…sorry. Continue on," the blonde grinned sheepishly.

The raven-haired teen laughed slightly as he shook his head before continuing. "Kai just doesn't seem like the type to date guys; he asked me how I knew that he didn't swing either way, but I just have this feeling that he only goes after girls. And if my parents caught wind that I was dating a guy…" he shook his head, random punishments coming to mind. "Although I do agree with what you said…"

"And if Lee found out if you ever dated the leader of the Phoenixes, he'd do goddess knows what. And Mao…" the blonde said with a shudder, images of the pink-haired neko-jin attacking Kai and the possible ways of her killing him and then Rei's punishment for 'cheating' on her.

"It doesn't matter anyway. Kai won't date me," the raven-haired boy said matter of factly as he plucked a lightning bug from the air, studying it as they walked until it flew from his palm. "What about Takao? You two seemed to get along pretty well."

At hearing the bluenette's name, Max blushed. "Other than his public displays of randomness, he's not so bad. He even invited me over Friday night to sleepover so we could get to know each other a little more."

"To make out you mean," Rei teased, receiving a shove in the arm while they both laughed.

"You're just jealous."

"Maybe a little, but not of Takao. I wish I had parents that were as accepting as yours," he sighed wistfully. "But if you two started seeing each other, you'd have to watch out for Lee too."

The blonde nodded. "Yeah, I know."

"Do you think you have a shot with him?"

"I don't know. It seems like he has a crush on someone already, and I think that it might be Kai…"

Rei's eyebrows furrowed slightly in thought, and then he nodded once. "I think you might be right. I mean, they've been best friends since they were little, so they know just about every dirty secret and button to push on each other, and I thought I seen Takao glancing at him an awful lot too. But then again, we could both be seeing things that aren't really there at all."

"Maybe." It was then silent for a few moments before Max laughed.

"What's so funny?"

"Here we are, getting worked up over a couple guys that we just basically met and we don't even know if we have the slightest chance with them."

Rei smiled. "You're right. Blame it on the teenage hormones."

======

"So the kitten's going along with the plan?" Yuri asked Kai as the group headed towards their homes.

Their leader nodded, his mind seemingly elsewhere.

"You're not actually interested in him, are you?" Takao asked, noticing Kai's odd behavior.

"Of course not. Can't a guy think every once in a while? You can't leave everything up to Kenny; I need my own creativity in this plan too."

"Admit it; you were thinking about him."

"As soon as you admit you were thinking about Max in a more than friendly manner," Kai spat, jamming his hands deep in his pockets, disgusted with the thought.

"Oh, please. I've already got my eyes set on someone," he replied, rolling his eyes.

"Whatever."

"Stop it, you two. I swear; you two act like a married couple with the way you're always bickering and at each other's throats," Kenny sighed in irritation causing Yuri to snicker.

"Ha ha, very funny. See you guys tomorrow," Takao huffed while walking up the sidewalk to his house.

"Alright, dear," Kai called to further ruffle the brunette, smirking all the while. "Sleep well."

"Shut up!" the miffed bluenette called before slamming his front door.

"He'll be over in an hour," Kai said while rolling his eyes. "Anything to annoy me and keep me from sleeping."

"Better your place than mine," Yuri snickered. At this, the redhead received a smack upside the head from Kai for his smart remark.

"You better watch it or I'll send him your way while you're asleep, armed with water balloons at that."

Yuri decided to keep his mouth shut for a while; Kai would do it.

They walked for another block, Kai walking for the hell of it, anything so he didn't have to go home to his griping parents. Kenny was the first of the three to then head home and Yuri and Kai took another lap around the block.

"What are you doing with him this weekend? You didn't tell us."

"Probably just a movie," the bluenette shrugged, uninterested with the subject.

"I think you should invite him over to your house for a while too, just to get some more info out of him."

"It depends on if I can handle being 'nice' for that long."

"You didn't do too bad today."

"I'll wait and see. That and I doubt my parents would be thrilled to have one of the kittens over for anything."

"Then go walking with him after the movie. Who knows, maybe he'll invite you over to his house?"

"Maybe. So, when do the stitches come out?" he then teased, desperate for a subject change.

"Shut up!"

TBC

Sorry if it seems like I'm kinda rushing things…but I know if I don't get to the parts I want soon, I'll loose interest in this altogether and it'll go in my unfinished fic pile…

But other than maybe being a little rushed, how was it?


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